Topusko

Topusko
Commune
Općina Topusko Topusko Municipality
Topusko spa resort with St. Mary's church in the background
Location of Topusko Municipality within Sisak-Moslavina County
Topusko Location of Topusko in Croatia
Coordinates: 45°17′35″N 15°58′20″E
Country	Croatia
County	Sisak-Moslavina
Area [1]
• Commune	198.7 km^2 (76.7 sq mi)
• Urban	3.3 km^2 (1.3 sq mi)
Elevation [2]	130 m (430 ft)
Population  (2021)[3]
• Commune	2,222
• Density	11/km^2 (29/sq mi)
• Urban	878
• Urban density	270/km^2 (690/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Website	topusko.hr

Topusko is a municipality in Sisak-Moslavina County, Croatia. Topusko is an underdeveloped municipality which is statistically classified as the First Category Area of Special State Concern by the Government of Croatia.^[4]

Demographics

The population of Topusko itself is 945, with a total of 2,985 people in the municipality (census 2011).^[5] There are 1865 Croats (62.48%), 893 Serbs (22.27%) and 139 Bosniaks (4.66%).^[6]

The 1991 census^[7] recorded that 63.89% of the population of Topusko settlement were ethnic Serbs (1014/1587), 26.15% were Croats (415/1587), 6.36% were Yugoslavs (101/1587) while 3.59% were of other ethnic origin (57/1587).

Historical population of Topusko settlement 1857-2011 ^[5][8]

population	84			133	153	280	449	408	580	662	793	1057	1432	1587	798	945
	1857	1869	1880	1890	1900	1910	1921	1931	1948	1953	1961	1971	1981	1991	2001	2011

Sources: Croatian Bureau of Statistics

• v

NOTE: The 1869 and 1880 population data is included in the population data of Ponikvari.

Settlements

The municipality includes 16 settlements:^[5]

• Batinova Kosa, population 50
• Bukovica, population 2
• Crni Potok, population 153
• Donja Čemernica, population 170
• Gređani, population 341
• Hrvatsko Selo, population 310
• Katinovac, population 90
• Mala Vranovina, population 1
• Malička, population 43
• Pecka, population 27
• Perna, population 176
• Ponikvari, population 347
• Staro Selo Topusko, population 154
• Topusko, population 945
• Velika Vranovina, population 150
• Vorkapić, population 26

Politics

Minority councils and representatives

Directly elected minority councils and representatives are tasked with consulting tasks for the local or regional authorities in which they are advocating for minority rights and interests, integration into public life and participation in the management of local affairs.^[9] At the 2023 Croatian national minorities councils and representatives elections Serbs of Croatia fulfilled legal requirements to elect 10 members minority council of the Municipality of Topusko.^[10]

History

Prehistory and Antiquity

The first traces of humans in the Topusko area were found around 2,500 B.C. Numerous idols, fragments of ceramic dishes were found. Through the millennia, the Illyrians, the Celts, and most of all, the Romans testified to their existence and their fascination with this area of impulsive vivacity, and they made a statio, called Ad Fines.

The excavation of pre-historical artifacts shows that Topusko and its surroundings were inhabited in the Neolithic (8-5 ct. BC). The line of the monuments built in the honour of the Illyrian divinities Vidas and Thiana (Thana), points to the presence of the Illyrians (tribes the Japodes and the Kolapijans, 3,000 years BC). In the area of Topusko we can also find traces of some other peoples, for example the Celts, the Goths, the French, the Hungarians etc.

The real development of Topusko begins after the arrival of the Romans. The most crucial event in the history of Topusko would be the building of the Roman road Via Eksecirtualis, which in turn sparked the creation of the Roman colony Ad Fines, which ultimately turned into modern day Topusko. The remnants of the luxurious architecture, the devices for heating the houses with hot water, the painted walls of the houses, the discovered altars dedicated to the Roman and domestic divinities, the grave-monuments, tools, ornaments, money (which was thrown into the thermal springs) are very valuable artifacts that tell us about the persistence of the colony through the whole antiquity.

Middle Ages

Topusko flourishes again in 1192 as a thermal resort in the time of Andrew II of Hungary, who in the time of his reign built a magnificent chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Pohod in a Gothic style. Its dilapidated front is being kept with all its monumentality in the park "Opatovina". This Cistercian portal today has the status of the unique symbol of Topusko.

King Andrew II goes to the holy war to Jerusalem at the beginning of the 13th century, and makes a vow that in case he comes back he will build a monastery and an abbey in Topusko, in token of gratitude. In 1233 he finishes the chapel and monastery and gives them to the Cistercians. This is their first monastery in Croatia, and the edifice itself is the first one built in Gothic style in the area south from France. The three hundred year dominance of the Cistercians began to weaken in wars with the Turks, who broke towards Vienna through these areas. Under the leadership of the Bosnian pasha Makoc beg, the Turkish troops destroyed the abbey in 1558. Only the front of that monumental edifice remained.

18th century to the present

Topusko spa restaurant building at the time of the third session of the ZAVNOH.

In the year 1784 Topusko and the abbey belong to the Croatian Military Border and remains under its conduct for about a hundred years. The real development of Topusko we can follow in a well-documented manner begins only after the arrival of colonel Ivan Nestor. Colonel Nestor started the development of Topusko, but the turning point was the arrival of the king Francis II in 1818, and the repeated donation of money for the construction. Therefore, Ivan Nestor is with good reason considered to be "the real father of Topusko".

The next stronger phase in the development followed the arrival of ban Josip Jelačić (later the count and the governor of Croatia). At that time also the capital objects are built and Topusko stands out from the common bathing resort and becomes a fashionable bathing-place.

In the late 19th and early 20th century, Topusko was a district capital in the Zagreb County of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia.

During World War II, the town was occupied by Axis troops and was included into the Pavelić's Independent State of Croatia (NDH). The fascist Ustashe regime committed the Genocide of the Serbs and the Holocaust. The NDH forces killed in a cruel way more than 600 Serbs in Staro Selo Topusko, while and the largest massacre occurred between 28 July and 3 August 1941 when 250 villagers were executed.^[11] Topusko hosted 3rd session of ZAVNOH, the highest governing organ of the anti-fascist movement in Croatia, during which, on May 9, 1944, the Federal State of Croatia was formally founded.

During the Croatian War of Independence, Topusko was occupied by the unrecognized breakaway Republic of Serbian Krajina. It was returned to Croatian control during Operation Storm.

HQ Sector North UNPROFOR was located in Topusko in the period 1992 - 1995.

Notable people

• Joseph Schlessinger - biochemist and biophysician

See also

• Federal State of Croatia
• ZAVNOH

References

1. Register of spatial units of the State Geodetic Administration of the Republic of Croatia. Wikidata Q119585703.
2. "Kupanac u trećoj termalnoj vodi po kvaliteti u Europi".
3. "Population by Age and Sex, by Settlements" (xlsx). Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in 2021. Zagreb: Croatian Bureau of Statistics. 2022.
4. Lovrinčević, Željko; Davor, Mikulić; Budak, Jelena (June 2004). "AREAS OF SPECIAL STATE CONCERN IN CROATIA- REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT DIFFERENCES AND THE DEMOGRAPHIC AND EDUCATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS". Ekonomski Pregled. 55 (5–6). Ekonomski pregled, Vol.55 No.5-6: 389–411. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
5. "Population by Age and Sex, by Settlements, 2011 Census: Topusko". Census of Population, Households and Dwellings 2011. Zagreb: Croatian Bureau of Statistics. December 2012.
6. "Population by Ethnicity, by Towns/Municipalities, 2011 Census: County of Sisak-Moslavina". Census of Population, Households and Dwellings 2011. Zagreb: Croatian Bureau of Statistics. December 2012.
7. Izdanje Državnog zavoda za statistiku RH: Narodnosni sastav stanovništva RH od 1880-1991. godine.
8. Naselja i stanovništvo Republike Hrvatske 1857-2001, www.dzs.hr
9. "Manjinski izbori prve nedjelje u svibnju, kreću i edukacije". T-portal. 13 March 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
10. "Informacija o konačnim rezultatima izbora članova vijeća i izbora predstavnika nacionalnih manjina 2023. III. SISAČKO-MOSLAVAČKA ŽUPANIJA" (PDF) (in Croatian). Državno izborno povjerenstvo Republike Hrvatske. 2023. p. 25. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
11. Zatezalo, Đuro (2005). "Radio sam svoj seljački i kovački posao": svjedočanstva genocida. Zagreb: SKD Prosvijeta. pp. 132–136. ISBN 953-6627-79-5.

External links

• Official website (in Croatian)